Mount & Blade: Pendor Becomes a Dominator Starting with the Creation of a Self-Established Knigh

Chapter 78 A Queue in Public

The morning mist had long since dissipated, and the sun was shining brightly.

Apart from a few mosquitoes, this mountain forest is quite pleasant, with the air filled with the unique fresh scent of the forest.

Nearly fifty team members, including the new members of Gonde Village, were gathered here in a clearing in the grove outside the camp!

All the team members were dressed neatly, some in leather armor and others in chainmail, with round shields on their backs and their own weapons and equipment in their hands.

Not far from the edge of the grove, a large number of villagers from Duanpo Village, along with a few lightly injured villagers from other villages, had gathered to watch the commotion.

In a short while, the team members from Duanpo Village automatically formed three horizontal lines, following their usual training habits.

Before Roger even started to organize the ranks, they had already lined up neatly on their own.

In stark contrast to them were the people of Gangde Village.

The members of Gangde Village had no concept of formation; they stood haphazardly in twos and threes, leaning to one side or the other, creating a chaotic scene.

In the crowd, some people were massaging their shoulders and backs, some were yawning, and some hadn't even fastened their armor properly, leaving it loosely draped over their bodies.

Aino stood at the very front of the Gangde Village team.

She had already put on her chainmail, her long, light-gold hair was tightly tied back with a black cloth strip, and the girl stood tall and straight, without the slightest slackening.

Looking at the lax manner of her own villagers, and then glancing at the orderly ranks of Duanpo Village to the side, she frowned slightly, her lips moved, but she didn't know what to say.

Virgil, Gode, and Ragnar stood outside the procession from Broken Amber Village.

Ragnar's chainmail fit him perfectly. Aunt Slin, noticing it was too loose, used thread to tighten parts of the garment, so the stitching could be gradually removed as he grew taller.

At this moment, he crossed his arms, a faint smile playing on his lips, and looked with great interest at the people from Gangde Village beside him.

Rogge waited quietly to the side, without uttering a word of reprimand for the laxity of Gondo Village.

He knew in his heart that these men had been traveling for days and had just gone through a fierce battle, and the soreness all over their bodies could not be relieved by a good night's sleep.

Before long, Eileen, whose armor was still somewhat disheveled, jogged from the direction of the camp to Rogge.

"Chief, I'm sorry, I—I'm late—"

The girl stood in front of Roger with her head down, her ears completely red, and she kept apologizing, her face full of shame.

"Alright, it's okay, go back to the team!"

Rogge remained calm, but his tone was gentle.

Seeing that Roger did not punish her, the girl breathed a sigh of relief, turned around timidly, and quickly walked to her sister Aino's side, her face still showing a hint of relief after the fear.

Once everyone had arrived, Rogge nodded to Virgil.

Virgil immediately stepped out of the queue and began to straighten the ranks: "Attention, everyone!"

"Left face~"

"stand at attention!"

Virgil's commands were powerful and resounding throughout the area. With just a few instructions, the ranks of Duanpo Village instantly became perfectly aligned.

Perhaps noticing that someone was watching them and wanting to make a show of themselves, the team members stood with their heels together, toes about 60 degrees apart, eyes looking straight ahead, and backs ramrod straight, making them stand remarkably neatly.

The men of Gangde Village were instantly stunned by the fluid movements of the Duanpo Village team members!

One by one, they were taken aback and their faces turned serious. The twenty members stood solemnly, but they didn't know what to do and seemed at a loss.

Rogge's gaze swept over the neat ranks of Broken Amber Village, and he nodded in satisfaction.

Then, he turned the light towards the loosely packed crowd in Gangde Village.

The team members from Gangde Village had already quieted down. Feeling Rogge's sharp gaze, they all subconsciously straightened their backs, suppressed their laziness, and tried their best to stand properly.

Roger silently counted the number of people present. Apart from the two seriously wounded, there were twenty people from Gonde Village, including the sisters Aino and Eileen.

His gaze lingered on the two groups of women for a moment. Including Eileen and Eno, there were actually five women in Gonde Village!

Roger glanced at the seven women standing at the front of the Broken Amber Village group and secretly made a calculation in his mind:

There are currently twelve women in the team. From what he has observed over the past few days, these women are not much worse than the men in other aspects, except that they are weaker than the men. Moreover, they are more thoughtful and quick-witted.

As long as they aren't allowed to act together and are instead scattered among the various men's teams, they are still quite capable.

He thought that perhaps in the future, female soldiers could form a separate long-range squad, specifically responsible for operating crossbows.

A few talented individuals can also be selected and trained as medics to handle battlefield first aid and wound care.

Bringing his thoughts back, Rogge gave a stern order to the people of Gonde Village: "Now, following their example, form two horizontal lines!"

As soon as the command was given, the people of Gangde Village were thrown into a flurry of activity.

Pushing and shoving, jostling each other, none of them were fools, and they quickly formed two lines.

The line was a truly pitiful sight, with people of varying heights haphazardly arranged. There were a total of twenty people, and the number of people in the two rows didn't even match up.

Roger didn't speak, but simply beckoned to Aino: "Aino, come out!"

Upon hearing this, Aino quickly stepped out of the group and stood next to Rogge.

This young girl, who never feared death on the battlefield, had her palms slightly sweaty at this moment.

Rogge pointed to the orderly ranks of Broken Amber Village, then to the chaotic ranks of Gander Village, and said softly, "Take a close look. What's the difference between your ranks and theirs?"

Hearing Roger's gentle words, the girl felt relieved and became even more focused.

Following the direction Rogge pointed, Aino first looked at the group from Broken Amber Village, then at her own village's group, and she vaguely understood what was going on.

"If you see anything, I'll give you time to adjust."

"yes!"

In just a moment, Aino stepped forward and completely rearranged the two queues. She sorted them by height, redistributed the number of people in the two columns, and even left an empty seat.

Watching this scene quietly, a hint of approval flashed in Roger's eyes.

He didn't teach her a single word, yet the girl was able to quickly form a neat line; she was extremely talented in training.

Seeing the girl turn to look at him, Roger praised her without reservation, "Well done!"

"Return to the team!"

Aino quickly returned to his seat, a faint smile playing on his lips.

Rogge took two steps forward and stood directly in front of the Gonde village group.

His gaze swept over each person's face again, and he said in a deep voice, "Yesterday, we made a pact: I will save your people, and you will join my team and obey my commands."

Roger's gaze swept across the face of every villager in Gonde, his voice calm yet powerful, "Now, I'm giving you one more chance to choose."

If anyone is unwilling to join, they can step forward now. I will not force them, and the previous agreement is hereby nullified.

"Anyone who doesn't want to join can leave the team now! Anyone want to leave?"

Roger stood quietly, waiting for everyone's answer.

However, the open space was silent, with only the rustling of leaves in the wind and the noisy discussions of the villagers of Duanpo Village not far away.

-

The villagers of Gangde looked at each other, their expressions resolute, without a trace of hesitation in their eyes.

They were already homeless, and leaving Rogge and their fellow villagers to face unknown dangers alone was simply beyond their capabilities.

After a moment, seeing that no one moved, a look of understanding appeared on Roger's face.

He took a deep breath, his expression turning serious: "Since you've all chosen to stay, then you must abide by the rules of my team."

"I don't have many complicated rules here, just three ironclad rules."

"As long as you comply, I promise you will never go hungry, as long as I have food to eat."

He paused, then said, word by word, "First rule: orders must be obeyed! All actions must be carried out under command; no one may act without authorization, and violators will be severely punished."

"Secondly, all spoils shall be turned over to the state! Any property, weapons, equipment, or food obtained from the enemy must be handed over to us for distribution."

"The third principle is to be kind to the people!"

Currently, we identify ourselves as an employment group, not as robbers who steal and plunder.

Wherever we go, no matter which country or village we encounter, we must not bully them, rob them of their property, or harm their lives!

Even when buying a piece of black bread from an ordinary person, you must pay a fair price!

Roger stated these three principles and ironclad rules with absolute certainty.

This was not only for the new members of Gangde Village, but also for all the veteran members of Duanpo Village.

At this moment, everyone in Duanpo Village was solemn, while the men of Gangde Village looked at each other in surprise.

In their minds, most mercenaries have a bad reputation.

They'll do anything for money!

Whether employed by a powerful lord or engaging in arson, murder, robbery, and all sorts of evil deeds on other people's territories.

Seeing the various reactions from the crowd, Roger asked again, "Can you all abide by these three ironclad rules? I'll say it again, I will not force you."

"If you cannot follow these three rules, please leave my team!"

Without hesitation, Eileen was the first to raise her hand: "Lord Rogge, I—I can do it, I'll do whatever you say!"

Seeing this, Aino immediately followed suit: "I can do it too!"

With the two taking the lead, the other members of Gonde Village also raised their hands and loudly declared, "Chief Rogge, we will definitely abide by the rules!"

"very good."

Roger nodded, then changed the subject and said in a deep voice, "In that case, I will now issue my first order."

"Anyone who has hoarded spoils during this rescue operation must immediately hand them over."

The moment the words were spoken, the men of Gangde Village froze.

Their eyes widened and their mouths gaped open.

After the battle ended yesterday, taking advantage of the chaos, each of them scavenged some things from the pirates' corpses.

The veteran team members from Duanpo Village couldn't help but chuckle softly when they saw this.

They had the same reaction when they first joined the team, but now they're used to it.

At this moment, everyone looked at the people of Gangde Village with great interest, wanting to see just how many good things they had secretly hoarded.

The men of Gangde Village looked at each other, somewhat at a loss.

Seeing this, Roger remained calm and simply watched them quietly. He was waiting for them to figure it out on their own, rather than forcing them.

Aino stood in the line, and seeing that no one moved, a look of dissatisfaction appeared on her face.

She whirled around and yelled at the men from her village, "How could you forget the promise you just made? Are you even men of Gangde Village anymore?"

The men of Gangde Village were immediately filled with shame.

One man gritted his teeth and was the first to step forward.

He placed his long-handled battle axe on the ground, then took out a small cloth bag from his pocket, counted out all seven or eight silver dinars inside, and then counted out another seven or eight copper kavala coins from the thirty-odd coins and put them back in the bag. Looking at the few copper kavala coins scattered in the bag, the man finally gritted his teeth and put the coins on the ground as well.

Once there's a first one, there's bound to be a second.

Seeing that someone had taken the lead, the others followed suit.

Some reluctantly removed their chainmail, some handed over their sharp daggers, some took off their studded boots, and so on—

Before long, a large pile of things was stacked up on the open ground.

Rogge looked at the spoils piled on the ground and nodded.

"Very good. I'll say it again, all spoils will be turned over to the public, not to confiscate your things, but for fair distribution."

""

He pointed to the weapons and armor on the ground: "These weapons and equipment are still yours to use."

Aside from the money, everyone can take their weapons and equipment back!

Upon hearing Rogge's command, a joyful commotion erupted from the crowd in Gonde Village.

Those who had just surrendered their equipment came out and retrieved their weapons and armor.

At Rogge's prompting, Virgil stepped forward carrying a wooden box and gathered all the coins from the ground.

Produce